Libraries are not passive, value-neutral places where knowledge is collected and made accessible, but active places where discourses are negotiated, contested, and confirmed. Starting from questions about the current role of photography in art and society, FIELD SCHOOL: GRAZ engages with the library’sepistemological processes and knowledge, together with invited artists, curators, and experts. Taken up here, through workshops, lectures, and one’s ownresearch - based artistic experiments, is Andrew Dewdney’s demand to forget photography as a strategy for reflecting on new approaches to organizing knowledge about the visual in the context of culture: How do processes of selection, evaluation, and ordering, as well as search and research, take shape? What (and whose) history of photography is being told? How can gaps be made visible? How does the library become a place of intervention and radical storytelling? With contributions by Reinhard Braun, Christine Frisinghelli, Dejan Markovic, Margit Neuhold, Barbara Petritsch, Nicole Six/Paul Petritsch, Anna Voswinckel, and WERKER Collective.

Faculty: Prof. Karina Nimmerfall, University of Cologne, Faculty of Human Sciences, Department Art andMusic; Leon Filter, University of Cologne; Faculty of Human Sciences, Department Art and Music; Ass. Prof. Rose - Anne Gush, IZK - Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz

Local Partner: Camera Austria, Laboratory for Photography and Theory

The Field School, hosted by Camera Austria in its library space, started its intensive program on Monday morning with a Welcome for all participating students and a guided tour through the exhibition Exposure by curator Anna Voswinkel. This was followed by a lecture by Christine Frisinghelli, co-founder of Camera Austria, on the history as well as the theoretical and practical groundworks of the institution. In the afternoon Margit Neuhold, editor at Camera Austria and Barbara Petritsch, librarian at the Wien Museum, conducted an introductory workshop on the structure of the library as well as the potentials and politics of its maintenance. Tuesday started with an outing at the IZK’s library space for a close reading of excerpts of Andrew Dewdney’s text Forget Photography. The afternoon continued withan interactive workshop by artist Nicole Six and curator Reinhard Braun on the politics, history of and artistic perspectives on Camera Austria’s archive, an artistic intervention placed in its library. On Wednesday a visit of several exhibitions at the Grazer Kunstverein and the Halle für Kunst, which each were guided by the curators, was followed by a workshop by the Amsterdam based WERKER Collective dealing with artistic methodologies of queering the library and archive. The full day concluded with a public lecture by WERKER’s on their most recent archival work. Thursday continued with a workshop by artist Dejan Markovic, based on his work Rebellious Books, that engaged with professionals from the art field in the form of interviews conducted by the students as well as interventions into the library. The workshop was followed by individual project work of the students, as well as a group discussion. The last day was used to continue the individual project work as well as brief presentations of first drafts for works developed by the students.

"I took part in this year's Field School, which took place in Graz in cooperation with Camera Austria. I really enjoyed the associated workshops, such as the workshop by and with the Werker Kollektiv, Dejan Markovic or Reinhard Braun and Nicole Six/Paul Petritsch, as well as the visits to the Museum für Gegenwartskunst and the Grazer Kunstverein, and I was able to combine them very well with the content of my previous studies. The collaboration with the students at the Institute of Contemporary Art Graz was extremely interesting and relevant for further research on my areas of specialization/interest. The content of the Field School and the knowledge I gained continue to inspire me - also thanks to the format of the one - week intensive collaboration - even beyond the week spent together. I will now incorporate elements of the work shop into an artistic project, which I will present in an exam." (Mareen N. Mueller, University of Cologne)

"The Field School "Forget Photography" offered us students the opportunity of intensively working on the idea of the library and to try them out in practice. The format was characterized by the fact that we exchanged the university space for the exhibition space of Camera Austria in Graz and were thus challenged to engage with the aforementioned contexts. We made small practical interventions in the instituti on's own library and by sketching and developing further projects of our own, the Field School continues to have an impact beyond the week. The Field School offered the opportunity to negotiate a productive working mode together and to actively contribute to tackling the challenges that arose over the course of the week. In various discussion rounds and experimental methods, we were able to work together with the lecturers and artists at eye level and critically address the topics of the week. The program was enriched by visits and discussions at relevant art institutions in Graz, so that we also had the opportunity to get to know the city and the local art scene." (Elias Müller, University of Cologne)

The Trilingual Programme (TLP) is a special language course allowed only for the top-10% students of the University of Tokyo, the highest-ranking university in Japan. Those who select German language visit the University of Cologne every year for two weeks. In the morning they get extensive language class, and in the afternoon they visit various laboratories in our university as well as cultural institutes in and around Cologne. They also communicate with local students. Providing the best and brightest students in Japan with the extensive knowledge and experiences of science, culture and history of Cologne and Germany will surely promote future relationship between the two countries.

Aside from the morning language classes, this year the 14 students from Tokyo visited the laboratories of University of Cologne professors in the Institute of History, Institute of Zoology, and the species conservation institute in the Cologne Zoo. They enjoyed two exchange-meetings with the students of the University of Cologne and the University of Düsseldorf. They also visited the Japanese Culture Institute near our university as well as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Bonn to learn about their activities, as well as the head quarter of Toyota Germany in Cologne, where its president presented its marketing strategy and a former Formular-1 driver explained about its long-term commitment to automobile racing. During weekends they had excursions to Brühl, Aachen, and Liège in Belgium. During free time students visited the Cologne Cathedral as well as various museums. Many students are fond of German classic music; they enjoyed Cologne Opera and WDR Symphony Orchestra concerts. A student even brought his own violine and offered a street concert.

“I was able to experience the professional atmosphere of those who devote themselves to scientific research on the front lines, and that was precious.” (Ryota Sakai, University of Tokyo)

“I had an opportunity to talk with a student who studies Japanology in the University of Cologne. Then I was really impressed that she learns Japanese and Japanese culture so enthusiastically. I would like to maintain this connection for a long time.” (Shuho Takahashi, University of Tokyo)

“During our stay in Cologne, we visited Mr. Ito's laboratory which helped me a lot considering my future major and job, and widened my horizon.” (Ryosuke Fujii, University of Tokyo)

From March 18th to March 22nd, 2024, the University of Cologne and Cologne University Hospital jointly hosted the first “Cologne Spring School for Medical Humanities: Perspectives on Health, Wellbeing and Diversity.” This international and interdisciplinary event was organized under the flagship of Clinical Aging Research, Cologne Summer Schools (CSS), the European University of Well-Being (EUniWell), the Cologne Center for Ethics, Rights, Economics, and Social Sciences of Health (ceres), Gender and Queer Studies in Cologne (GeStik), the Institute for the Ethics and History of Medicine, Forum Decolonizing Academia, and the Husserl Archives Cologne.

The participants wore age simulation suits, an exercise designed to prompt reflections on old age as an extreme circumstance; they developed short plays where they reenacted personal negative encounters in communicating with doctors – with the goal to improve the communication afterwards; the participants discussed intercultural perspectives on coping with dying and death, facilitated through a round table format; and they developed their own projects in touch with researchers and health care professionals from the University of Cologne. Through these and many more activities, the participants gained valuable insights, honed their communication skills, and broadened their cultural awareness. A highlight of the event was the integration of diverse viewpoints, including perspectives from marginalized communities and voices often underrepresented in mainstream discourse. This inclusive approach underscored the importance of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare education and practice.

In conclusion, the inaugural Cologne Spring School for Medical Humanities served as a catalyst for advancing dialogue, understanding, and collaboration at the intersection of medicine and the humanities. By nurturing a shared vision of holistic healthcare, the summer school reinforced the significance of embracing diverse perspectives to promote health, wellbeing, and diversity in our global community.

"The spring school has given me invaluable knowledge and experience in the field and was the perfect introduction to the beautiful city of Cologne." (Lucy)

"I would say that this experience opened my eyes to many important topics and I´m sure it'll make a difference in my professional career." (Oumaima)